Tag Archives: featured

banyeo to sajik

banyeo. saw the local tomcat chasing a marauding intruder. they tumbled out from under a parked car letting out war cries. the catfight rolled onto the busy street. the cabdrivers slowed down and gave the warriors a brake-a courtesy not often extended to civilians and pedestrians.

crossed the suyong into yeonsan. followed gobun-ro along baeksan mountain. went over the tunnel that cuts into one of baeksan’s protuding ridges. at the top, i visited the ancient tombs of yeonsandong (옌산동고분군) from the gaya period (first to 6th century AD).

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DSC_0344found a not-so-ancient artifact in the sexy and shady district surrounding yeonsan intersection. possible relic of a demolished love motel.

DSC_0352followed the worldcup-daero road, renamed for the 2002 fifa world cup that took place near by.
past geojeyeok entered an old neighborhood.
signs of mudang and shamans.

DSC_0354a door to an abandoned house.

DSC_0355a neighborhood that will be swept away by the new korea of high rises and lotte castles.

DSC_0356a pastoral scene.

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KSU y la bocca della Veritá

KSU en Busan no es lo mismo durante el día que durante la noche. Como collegetown, es un sector popular para el carrete descontrolado. Aquí se mezclan estudiantes universitarios coreanos y extranjeros, profesores de ingles e inmigrantes turcos, rusos y africanos.

En KSU encontramos un grafiti de una urraca (까치) con un sombrero militar antiguo.

Por ahí una Easy Rider

y un pedazo extraviado de la Italia. La Bocca della Verità. La leyenda cuenta que la imagen muerde si uno dice una mentira con la mano adentro de la boca. Queda sin comprobar.

Un león de ciudad (사자시티).

y un león de puerta (사자문).

En las afueras de KSU encontramos el cementerio de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas donde yacen soldados perecidos durante la Guerra de Corea.

Pensando en gatos y cosas italianas, aquí esta la versión de la canción “Volevo un gatto nero” en coreano (고양이네로). Mientras trabajaba en el colegio, escuche a una colega coreana cantando esta canción y me sonaba familiar.

Bossy general, lanterns, hearts of light, raw meat with rice

Festival de luces en el rio Namkang en Jinju. Octubre | Jinju Lantern Festival. Mid-October | 진주남강유등축제

 

El jefe | Bossy general statue | General Kim Si-Min 김시민

Siestita en el castillo | Nap time at the castle | 성에서 낮잠

Bibimbap (arroz mezclado) con carne cruda | Yukhoe (raw meat) bibimbap |  진주육회비빔밥

Dragon de luz en el rio Namkang | 빛의 용

 Túnel | Tunnel | 터널

 Corazones | hearts | 심장

Colgando rezos y deseos en el signo del tigre del zodiaco chino. Un color para cada uno de los 12 signos. | Hanging wishes and prayers on the tiger of the Chinese zodiac. A color for each of the 12 signs. |

Unlucky pufferfish, beach bum nuns, a dog named Mountain

Photos September-Mid October. South Korea.

 

Beach bum nuns. Gwangally beach, Busan. Sept-7

Zombie fish, Namchon. Sept-7

A sign falls off building after Typhoon Sanba hits Korea. Jangsan, Busan.  Sept-17

Surfers, Songjong beach, Busan. Sept-26

Hakdong Pebble beach. Geoje Island, South Korea. Sept-30

San 산 (Mountain) The Dog. Okpo, Geoje Island, South Korea. Oct-1

Windy Hill. Geoje, South Korea. Oct-1

Swan, duck, and dragon boats. Gucheon Dam, Geoje Island, South Korea. Oct-2

Stone people. Gucheon Dam, Geoje Island, South Korea. Oct-2

Turtle ship Tongyeong, South Korea. Oct-3

 Persimmons,  Songjong beach, Busan. Oct-8.

Bungeoppang. Batter +  Red bean paste = yum. Nampo, Busan. Oct-10

Big Squid. Fish markets. Jagalchi, Busan. Oct-10

Fish.  Fish markets. Jagalchi, Busan. Oct-10

Lotus root. Fish markets. Jagalchi, Busan.  Oct-10

Pufferfish with lipstick. For your good luck not theirs. Fish markets. Jagalchi, Busan.  Oct-10

 

Cemeteries and dead moviemakers

Saturday night. I’m in another cemetery dream. Fourth one in six months. They are actually never scary but thrilling and filled with expectation.

Night. Graves scattered up and all around a hill lit by orange street lights. City lights spread below like the first sight of Las Vegas driving in from the East.  I’m walking up a winding road that snakes through the ruins of Cerro Santa Lucia‘s fortress. The trees have a few purple leaves left. I wake up briefly. Then back to another dream. I’m in the river from The Master. There’s a lone cameraman in the water looking through a large camera as Joaquin Phoenix runs up the banks of the river. The tripod legs run into the water. Southern willow trees in the breeze. I tell the lone man I’ve seen this before. He turns around, it’s Tony Scott.

I’m not surprised. I sort of know this is a dream already. Director Tony Scott jumped to his death from Vincent Thomas Bridge in LA last month. But he’s here, wearing a pink baseball cap. He explains that this camera records into these tapes. Ejects a miniDV tape from the camera and shows it to me. I’m obviously not impressed and he seems distracted. He walks away leaving me to look after the camera.  “Red” says a production assistant that stands arms crossed behind me. “I think the camera is a red.” I notice that one of the tripod legs rests on a leather treasure chest under the water. I move the camera to open the treasure. Inside, wrapped in newspaper like the Maltese Falcon, Halloween masks. I’m a little disappointed. They’re John Belushi masks in Blues Brothers character. I wake up.

Dongnae, Busan.

Napkin, Thirsty Moose, PNU, Busan.

mortality

 

 

 

Soldiers and ogres


Watch out for man-won man. Book street, Nampo, Busan.


Yellow and green ladies. Seoul.

Trail running. Jangsan Mountain. Night.
Up the pine tree forests.
Then soldiers on the road.
Out of the innocent shadow. Crouching and smoking.
I light them up with my torch not knowing they don’t want to be seen.
Lit up they recede like creatures that can only hold power in the night.
I turn off my light.
Helmet cat eyes shinning.
Cigarette ambers floating and then flaring up with the breath of new life.

I turn around slowly. I run back home pretending I saw neither war nor warriors.
Then I hear them chanting or laughing or crying.
They are waiting for the things that only exist in the dark.
Little soldiers with ambitious imaginations.
Then silence.
Orange lights deep in the forest.
Smells of meat.
A cauldron boiling slowly.
Dogs bark then silence again.
A running stream and the wind in the trees.
A lone bird cries, intermittently. Singing in morse code.
Folkloric creatures and curious soldiers watch me
while I make my way down to Busan.